Show ContentsCrowl History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Irish names tend to vary widely in their spelling and overall form. The original Gaelic form of the name Crowl is "O Cruadhlaoich." This is derived from the words "cruadh," which means "hard," and "laoch," which means "hero." 1

Early Origins of the Crowl family

The surname Crowl was first found in Moylurg, in the County Roscommon, where they started as a branch of the MacDermots. It is from Teige, a Prince of Moylurg, down to Cruadhlaoch that the line of descent for the Crowleys begins. A junior branch of the Crowley family also emerged and moved to the area of Dunmanway, in the west of County Cork. They eventually became a distinct sept with their chief at Kilshallow, thriving while their parent family gradually withered. The majority of the Crowley family came to be found in the county of Cork, with three-quarters of the family being born there in modern times. 2

Early History of the Crowl family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Crowl research. Another 119 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1172, 1658, 1713, 1819 and 1857 are included under the topic Early Crowl History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Crowl Spelling Variations

People who were accounted for by scribes and church officials often had their name recorded many different ways because pronunciation was the only guide those scribes and church officials had to go by. This resulted in the problem of one person's name being recorded under several different variations, creating the illusion of more than one person. Among the many spelling variations of the surname Crowl that are preserved in archival documents are Crowley, Crowly, O'Crowley, Croaley, Croawley, O'Crowly and many more.

Early Notables of the Crowl family

Notable amongst the family name at this time was

  • Ambrose Crowley II, a Quaker Blacksmith in Stourbridge but rose to become Sheriff of London

Crowl Ranking

In the United States, the name Crowl is the 9,584th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 3


United States Crowl migration to the United States +

Irish families left their homeland in astonishing numbers during the 19th century in search of a better life. Although individual reasons vary, most of these Irish families suffered from extreme poverty, lack of work opportunities, and exorbitant rents in their homeland. Many decided to travel to Australia or North America in the hopes of finding greater opportunities and land. The Irish immigrants that came to North America initially settled on the East Coast, often in major centers such as Boston or New York. But like the many other cultures to settle in North America, the Irish traveled to almost any region they felt held greater promise; as a result, many Irish with gold fever moved all the way out to the Pacific coast. Others before that time left for land along the St. Lawrence River and the Niagara Peninsula, or the Maritimes as United Empire Loyalists, for many Irish did choose to side with the English during the American War of Independence. The earliest wave of Irish migration, however, occurred during the Great Potato Famine of the 1840s. An examination of early immigration and passenger lists has revealed many people bearing the Crowl name:

Crowl Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Jacob Crowl, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1763 4
Crowl Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Mr. James Henry Crowl, (b. 1864), aged 41, Cornish stonemason travelling aboard the ship "St Louis" arriving at Ellis Island, New York on 12th August 1905 en route to Hartford, Connecticut, USA 5

Australia Crowl migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Crowl Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Thomas Crowl, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Mary Ann" in 1849 6
  • Mr. Malachi Crowl, (b. 1830), aged 24, Cornish carpenter departing from Plymouth on 2nd August 1854 aboard the ship "Panama" arriving in Portland, Victoria, Australia on 23rd October 1854 7
  • Mrs. Elizabeth Crowl, (b. 1829), aged 25, Cornish settler departing from Plymouth on 2nd August 1854 aboard the ship "Panama" arriving in Portland, Victoria, Australia on 23rd October 1854 7
  • Mr. Samuel Crowl, (b. 1853), aged 25, Cornish labourer travelling aboard the ship "La Hogue" arriving in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia on 21st October 1878 8

New Zealand Crowl migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Crowl Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Mrs. Elizabeth Jane Crowl, (b. 1870), aged 18, Cornish general servant departing on November 1870 aboard the ship "Charlotte Gladstone" arriving in Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand on 21st January 1871 9
  • Mr. John Crowl, (b. 1854), aged 22, Cornish labourer departing on 12th November 1876 aboard the ship "Wiltshire" arriving in Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand on 17th February 1877 9
  • Mr. William Crowl, (b. 1858), aged 20, Cornish farm Labourer departing on 28th September 1878 aboard the ship "Adamant" going to Hawkes Bay, New Zealand arriving in port on 11th January 1879 10

Contemporary Notables of the name Crowl (post 1700) +

  • L. W. Crowl, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Kansas, 1888 11
  • Sidney Robert "Sid" Crowl (1888-1971), English professional footballer
  • Joseph Terrell "Joe" Crowl (1883-1915), Australian rules footballer
  • Claude Terrell Crowl (1892-1915), Australian rules footballer from Stratford, Victoria


  1. O'Hart, John, Irish Pedigrees 5th Edition in 2 Volumes. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1976. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0737-4)
  2. MacLysaght, Edward, Irish Families Their Names, Arms and Origins 4th Edition. Dublin: Irish Academic, 1982. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2364-7)
  3. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  4. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
  5. Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 3rd May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_ellis_island_1892_on.pdf
  6. State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) The MARY ANN 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849MaryAnn.htm
  7. Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 3rd May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_australia_victoria.pdf
  8. Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 2018, April 19). Emigrants to Australia NSW 1860 -88 [PDF]. Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/nsw_passenger_lists_1860_88.pdf
  9. Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 2018, April 30). Emigrants to Lyttelton 1858-84 [PDF]. Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/new_zealand_assisted.pdf
  10. Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 2018, April 30). Emigrants to other ports, 1872 - 84 [PDF]. Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/new_zealand_assisted.pdf
  11. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, February 1) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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